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CHARLOTTESVILLEThe Virginia men’s basketball team closes out a three-game homestand on Tuesday (Dec. 23) when the Cavaliers host Hampton University at John Paul Jones Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and UVa will be trying to bounce back from a tough 58-56 loss to Auburn at JPJA last Saturday (Dec. 20).
Reserved seat tickets are available for the Virginia-Hampton game at a cost of $15 each. The Hampton game is also a Family Night at John Paul Jones Arena. Family night tickets are $12 each. A minimum of four tickets must be purchased. Each family night game ticket also includes a concession voucher redeemable for a 22-ounce soda, a hot dog and a box of popcorn.
The Virginia-Hampton game will be broadcast on ACC select at www.accselect.com.
The Cavaliers enter Tuesday’s game with a 4-4 record after the loss to Auburn. A three-point field goal by DeWayne Reed with 1:24 left to play provided Auburn with the winning points against Virginia. The Cavaliers had two possessions after Reed’s three-pointer, but failed to score.
UVa trailed by 13 points (37-24) with 17:08 left in the game and still trailed by eight (50-42) with 9:15 remaining to play. The Cavaliers then scored 12 consecutive points to take a 54-50 lead with 4:45 remaining. Freshmen guards Sylven Landesberg and Sammy Zeglinski each scored five points in the run.
UVa led 56-52 after a jumper by Zeglinski with 4:02 left to play, but the Cavaliers would not score again. A three-pointer by Auburn’s Ty Waller at the 2:16 mark narrowed Virginia’s lead to 56-55 and set the stage for Reed’s three-point field goal that proved to be the winning basket.
“I’m obviously disappointed, particularly with our inability to play a game from start to finish that we prepared to play.” Virginia head coach Dave Leitao said following the Auburn game. “Two things we emphasized were to execute a game plan and do it with a high level of passion. We didn’t sustain either and it obviously cost us in the beginning, it cost us in the middle and it cost us late. We need to continue to work on those issues to one, get better, and two, win games like this that are going to be left in the balance.”
Of Virginia’s eight games this season, seven games have been decided by 10 points or less and five have been decided by four points or less.
Landesberg scored a game-high 22 points and had six rebounds for UVa. He was the only Virginia player to score in double figures. It was the first time the Cavaliers had just one player score in double figures since a 59-52 victory over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in the San Juan Shootout on Dec. 21, 2006. Adrian Joseph was the only UVa player in double figures in that game with 10 points.
Landesberg leads Virginia in scoring and is second in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 19.5 points a game. He is also averaging 6.1 rebounds a game. Landesberg has scored in double figures in each of UVa’s eight games and has scored 20 or more points on five occasions. He is shooting 50.5 percent (49-97) from the field.
Landesberg was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for the third time this season on Monday (Dec. 22).
Zeglinski is the only other Virginia player averaging in double figures in scoring with an average of 12.8 points a game. He leads the Cavaliers in assists with an average of 3.5 a game.
Junior guard Calvin Baker and sophomore forward Mike Scott are both averaging 9.6 points a game. Baker is second on the team in assists with an average of 3.4 a game, while Scott is UVa’s leading rebounder with an average of 8.9 a game. Scott is tied for fifth in the ACC in rebounding.
Virginia is averaging 75.8 points a game and allowing an average of 72.8 points a game. The Cavaliers are out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 7.2 rebounds a game, but Auburn out-rebounded UVa 44-30 in its victory over the Cavaliers. It marked the first time this season Virginia had been out-rebounded.
The Cavaliers lead the series with Hampton 4-0 and have been beaten the Pirates each of the last two seasons at John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia won last season’s game 79-65. Three of the games in the series have been played in Charlottesville.
Hampton enters Tuesday’s game with a record of 5-4. The Pirates have not played since a 75-66 home loss to Delaware on Dec. 9.
Junior guard Vincent Simpson is the only player averaging in double figures in scoring for Hampton with an average of 10.4 points a game. Junior forward Michael Freeman is averaging 9.7 points and leads the Pirates in rebounding with an average of 4.7 a game. Sophomore guard Jordan Brooks leads Hampton in assists with an average of 4.2 a game.
Hampton is averaging 59.4 points a game and allowing an average of 62.2 points a game.
Kevin Nickelberry is in his third season as the head coach at Hampton. His Hampton teams have compiled an overall record of 38-32.
Virginia opens Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday (Dec. 28) at Georgia Tech. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports Net.